Celebrex News

Five former patients have filed a Celebrex lawsuit in Wisconsin against Pfizer Inc., Walgreens and three other companies. The lawsuit alleges that the patients suffered Celebrex side effects—including heart attacks, strokes and other serious injuries—as well as financial damage as a result of using the drug.

The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban Pfizer Inc. from advertising its arthritis drug Celebrex on television. The group says that a new ad for the drug gives consumers the false impression that the risk of Celebrex side effects is the same as with other pain relievers.

Starting tonight, Pfizer Inc. will begin re-airing ads for its controversial arthritis drug Celebrex. Pfizer stopped airing TV ads for Celebrex in December 2004 after a similar drug, Vioxx, was taken off the market due to its risk of causing heart attacks. Both drugs are part of a class of pain relievers known as COX-2 inhibitors, which are designed to be gentler on the stomach than other pain medications.

The American Heart Association says that patients at risk for heart problems should avoid taking the pain drug Celebrex except as a last resort. The group also warned these patients against the long-term use of a class of pain relievers which includes ibuprofen and naproxen. The AHA’s recommendations were published online in the journal Circulation.

Pfizer may have trouble convincing the Food and Drug Administration to approve its painkiller Celebrex for the treatment of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). Pfizer is seeking FDA approval to sell the drug as a treatment for JRA, which affects some 60,000 American kids. The disease, which causes painful swelling of the joints, can affect growth and development.

Celebrex, under close scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration since late 2004, will now carry a “black-box” warning on its label. Celebrex is the only COX-2 painkiller still on the market in the United States, so this is not entirely bad news for the drug’s maker, Pfizer. Merck has withdrawn its Vioxx, and the FDA asked Pfizer to pull its Bextra soon thereafter.

Pfizer Inc. has revealed that a 1999 clinical trial found that elderly patients taking its popular arthritis and pain medicine Celebrex were far more likely to suffer heart problems than those taking a placebo.